John Velazquez attended jockey school in his native Puerto Rico from 1988-`90, and in the latter year recorded his first official winner at El Comandante racetrack. Within months, he had found an influential mentor in Racing Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr., who encouraged Velazquez to head north to New York and hone his skills in the big leagues. The young rider did just that, with immediate success. Through much of the 1990s, Velazquez has been a top-ten rider in the Empire State, where in 1994, he scored his first career Grade 1 victory aboard Turk Passer in the Turf Classic.